And Then, Silence
by RedxMaude
Summary: Ruby takes on Cinder, Neo, and Salem in an increasingly strange headcanon that continues to spin out of control even as I write it. Rated T for violence. Latest Chapter: Ever wonder what it looks like inside of Salem's mind? Here's a strange and stilted look at the demons deep inside...
1. And Then, Silence: Part One

And Then, Silence

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 _In media res, we find our heroine and our villain locked in a long and drawn out battle, neither side able to gain a clear advantage. After nearly an hour of intense fighting, both are on the verge of collapse, struggling even to remain upright. But surely one must rise and end this fight. For better, or for worse…_

Ruby and Cinder each went down on one knee, panting heavily. An empty space of twenty feet separated them, and each woman raised her head just enough to glare into the eyes of her adversary.

All around them, the room lay in ruins. Emerald had long since fled, abandoning Cinder. Fighting Ruby was the last straw, she no longer had it in her to serve alongside Cinder, her longtime mentor and idol. Mercury lay in an unconscious heap, a trickle of blood behind his ear and one of his armored legs detached, nowhere to be seen.

Moments of silence stretched between them, both women still trying to catch their breath. Cinder gritted her teeth, pure exhaustion the only thing reining in her seething rage.

In her mind, the words screamed: _What is this_ child _? How is she doing this? Why the hell can't I kill her!_

Steeling herself, Cinder started to pull herself up into a standing position, shaking and almost falling but eventually succeeding in getting back on her feet.

Meanwhile, Ruby merely watched, waiting. She knew she was almost at her limit. Whatever power it was that surged through her at the top of Beacon's tower, she still could not control it at will and without it, she feared she would eventually lose this fight.

She flashed back to her broken memories of that night. Even after all these months, Ruby still couldn't piece together everything that had taken place. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened after reaching the top of the tower. Her last conscious memory was of Pyrrha, glowing like she was on fire – a phoenix burning bright and then fading. She remembered the dying embers of her friend trickling away, ashes scattered by a careless breeze.

And then everything went blank. A wall of white slammed down over her world like a curtain, and all that remained was a few sounds. In the distance: The screeching cry of a large grimm, a piercing memory of Cinder's voice, a roaring torrent of wind heralding a swirling cyclone of cold, thrashing air, and then… nothing.

Ruby could feel her heart pounding in her chest, beating against her ribs. With every staggering breath, her lungs berated her, wearily protesting in a shuddering pattern of inhaling and exhaling.

She wanted to give up. She wanted to go _home_. She wanted to run away, and hide and cover her ears and close her eyes. Plain and simple, she was scared. Fear, as much as exhaustion, held her in place. She didn't think she'd win this fight and come out of it alive.

But she wasn't about to let Cinder see her doubts. Within her mind, Ruby's thoughts shouted and bounced off the inside of her throbbing skull, _Get up damn it! Get up now! Do it for Yang, for Weiss, for Blake! Do this for Pyrrha! Do this for everyone who lost someone in the fall of Beacon! Just. Get. Up!_

But still she couldn't rise. Cinder, now slightly more steady on her feet took a few slow steps towards where Ruby knelt, narrowing the gap between them.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ruby let loose a primal roar, temporarily stopping Cinder in her tracks. The sudden force of her will finally urged her groaning muscles into action, and inch by inch she fought to stand. Finally, she stood almost level with her opponent, leaning heavily on her scythe.

It seemed as if the battle would begin again in earnest, but the door behind Cinder slammed open, startling them both. A swirl of inky nighttime shadows poured into the room, leeching away some of the yellow lamplight.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Both women watched the door warily, waiting to see who or what had disturbed it.

Then, in walked Neo.

Recognition flashed in Ruby's eyes and she groaned. Now, it was two against one. But Cinder didn't smile, she just glared, annoyed.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded in her low rasping voice, not welcoming the interference.

Neo cocked her head to one side, and a slow, sly smiled tugged at her lips. She blinked and her eyes shimmered, as if catching a sudden ray of light.

Cinder scoffed, not wanting to wait any longer. She'd had enough – it was time to finish off this nuisance once and for all. Turning her back to Neo, she looked at Ruby, hatred oozing out of her one good eye and her upper lip curling into a sneer.

The room charged with an intense energy as Cinder summoned the power of the fall maiden, and Ruby raised Crescent Rose, ready to ward off the coming attack.

Cinder screamed and a fiery light burst from her skin, and she lunged towards Ruby, a murderous pulse beating in her veins – but the shriek was strangled in her throat as she was pulled up short. A restraining hand gripped her shoulder, squashing her power and holding her in place.

Her mouth hanging open in shock, Cinder looked over her shoulder to see Neo, gripping her fiercely. Her face was arranged in a smug mask of contempt.

And then the small, ever-silent girl opened her mouth to speak.

"Stop."

The single word echoed in space, chaining Cinder and Ruby to the floor. Cinder's eye widened in disbelief – she recognized that voice.

"My dear Cinder, the sheer number and brilliance of your shortcomings never cease to amaze, do they? I mean really, if you can't even handle one little girl, there's not much use for you now is there…"

A bubble of girlish laughter fell from Neo's lips, and in an instant her features shifted, rearranging themselves in a blur of light and motion.

Her skin and hair blanched, leeching away it's warmth and color. Her eyes flashed, lit from within by the glow of a red fire. Dark veins crept over her cheeks, and a single black diamond adorned her forehead.

Staring back at them was Salem.


	2. And Then, Silence: Part Two

If you haven't already please check out part one! Without it some of what follows here won't really make sense.

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And Then, Silence Part Two

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"What the hell is this!" screamed Cinder. "Have you just been screwing with me this whole time?"

"Really Cinder enough with the theatrics," murmured Salem.

Heat rolled off Cinder in waves, the edges of her dress flaring with a bright orange glow. Uncaring, Salem smirked and stepped around her. Casting her eyes over Ruby for the first time, she looked the girl up and down with a discerning glance.

"You have been a most interesting conundrum," she said, half to herself. Letting her gaze bore into those silver eyes, she continued, "You should take that as a compliment really."

Ruby was barely able to stand, exhausted as she was, let alone generate a reply at this point. Neo had melted away, only to be replaced by this… this woman? Looking more demon than human, Ruby knew that there'd be no running away. She was utterly, hopelessly trapped.

"I really would have liked to know what fighting you at your best is like," she mused, "but unfortunately, Cinder has already seen to ruining _that_ opportunity. I'll just have to be content with whatever you have left…"

"No!" roared Cinder, stealing Salem's attention. "That brat is _mine_!" she yelled, bearing her teeth in a feral snarl.

Summoning her rage to the surface, Cinder let fly a volley burning glass shards. The deadly projectiles hissed through the air towards Ruby, threatening to shred Salem in their path. But just as the wall of smoldering missiles was about to tear the witch apart, she turned to face them, her eyes flaring a deeper red.

The shards immediately disintegrated into harmless puffs of dust, washing over Salem and Ruby in a thin reddish cloud.

"Did you really think," said Salem, addressing a seething Cinder, "that would work?"

Cinder's chest heaved, her breaths coming in disjointed gasps. Fury had lent her renewed strength, but the effects of the long fight with Ruby still showed, written all over her tired limbs. Wordlessly, she stared at Salem in hatred.

"Did you really think," she repeated, talking a step back towards Cinder, "that you could attack me with a power you barely understand? A power you _stole_? With _my_ _help_?"

A mirthless smile slid across Salem's face, distorting her features.

"I'll just have to deal with you first."

Cinder's eye widen in shock. Jerking back, she took a hesitant step away and slid into a defensive crouch. Swiftly turning on her heel, a wave of sparks kicked up and two short swords appeared in her hands, held at the ready.

A low chuckle escaped Salem's lips as she continued her advance, hands held uselessly behind her back. Confidently, she strode towards Cinder, even as she struck out with one of her swords, cutting a vicious arc towards the white-haired witch.

The black blade whistled through the air, aiming to cleave Salem from shoulder to hip. Cinder's eye blazed, intent on her target.

Swift as lighting, Salem's left hand shot up from behind her back, snaking forward and gripping the blade. As soon as her fingers closed around the single-edged weapon it shattered into pieces, leaving only the stub of a hilt in Cinder's grasp.

Thrown off balance, she stumbled and dropped her other blade. As Cinder fell forward, Salem's other hand lashed out, grabbing her by the throat.

With her grip latched around Cinder's exposed neck, Salem flexed her fingers, squeezing them tighter. Slowly, she dragged Cinder up to meet her gaze, pushing her face closer to that of her prey's.

"Almost not even worth the effort," she hissed.

Rearing back her left arm, she struck out suddenly with brutish force. Blood spurted from Cinder's mouth and the flame of the fall maiden's power faded from her eye – sputtering out and leaving only an absence of light – as Salem shoved her hand through Cinder's exposed chest, still gripping her by the throat.

Cinder's back seemed to explode as her ribs blew outwards. Rippling red portals blossomed from the wound, eradicating the black mark between her shoulder blades.

Life quickly fleeing her broken frame, Cinder's eye weakly wandered up to meet Salem's gaze, accusations and fear mingling in her look. Her vision wavered – quivering – and her eye slowly drooped back down.

Frowning in distaste, Salem dropped the body to the floor in an undignified heap, leaving it to stew in its own blood.

Through it all, Ruby had looked on helplessly – her whole body shaking from head to toe. Fear rocked through her in shuddering waves and she gripped Crescent Rose so tightly that her nails dug into the palms of her hands, drawing blood.

She could hear her heartbeat ringing in her ear – a high, fluttering sound that raced and staggered like a startled hare.

Salem turned towards Ruby, the train of her long black gown curling around her feet in the puddle of Cinder's blood. Cocking her head to one side, she met Ruby's eye and smiled.

"Your turn."

Salem lunged at Ruby, balls of black fire springing to life in each of her hands. The flames crackled and spit, filling the room with the heat of living energy. Panicked, Ruby tried to dive past Salem towards the door, activating her semblance as she flew by in a flurry of red blurs and rose petals.

Changing course at the last moment, Salem shifted her weight and struck out with her right hand – grazing Ruby's shoulder as she sped by.

Thrown by the force of the blow, Ruby somersaulted into the wall. Her shoulder burned with a steadily rising heat where the black fire had touched her. Looking down at the wound, she watched as her blood bubbled, throwing off steam as if it were boiling.

Clasping her injured arm with her left hand, she pushed herself up into a crouch with the wall against her back. Dizzy from the pain, Ruby's vision blurred and the room seemed to tilt at an impossible angle. Blood flowed down her arm and she struggled to maintain her grip on Crescent Rose.

She couldn't see Salem anymore, but it seemed like fractured echoes of her dark laughter circled around Ruby's head. Broken bits of sound swirled around her, spinning with the room in a terrifying dance of chaos and oblivion. Ruby felt like she was fighting a heavy curtain of darkness, crashing down on her with the weight of a mountain and trying to shut her eyes, pulling her towards that last, permanent embrace.

Fear mingled with a desperate rage that welled up inside of her as she fought back. Seconds slid by like hours and she tried to force the world to right itself. An image of Cinder's ribs splayed open like the wings of an eagle set the skin of her back to tingling, and she shuddered at the horrible notion that her own death was fast approaching.

So small at first that she didn't even notice it, a flame flickered and licked at the edges of her heart. But the heat kept growing and growing, like a hot coal had sunken into her chest.

This burning – unlike the pain in her ruined shoulder – came from within her, lighting up her blood and snapping her mind back into a clear focus.

Salem watched as a torrent of brilliant white light erupted from the girl's eyes. Ruby roared, dropping her scythe as both hands flung to the side, balled up into tight fists. Blanketing the room in a burning absence of color and sound, the light washed over Cinder and Mercury's inert forms and crashed over Salem, her right hand raised to protect her eyes.

The wall of white gradually faded and color rushed back into the room. The thread of energy snapped inside of Ruby, leaving her utterly emptied of will. Her aura completely exhausted, she collapsed to the ground, lying on her stomach with her arms and legs splayed at odd angles. Chin propped up on the floor, she could see across the room to where Salem stood, her entire frame shaking.

At first, Ruby couldn't discern the cause of the shaking. Salem stood with her right palm turned towards her face, as if scrutinizing it. Fat gobbets of blackened blood dripped to the floor from the destroyed veins on her exposed skin.

Squinting, Ruby's focus narrowed and became clearer. Salem was rocking with silent laughter as she stared at the maimed remnants of her hand. Her ring and little fingers had been blown clear off, leaving a glistening red stump.

Horrendously amused, Salem's silent laughter turned into sharp, bellowing cackles that ripped through Ruby, reaching that place where only mortal fear lived inside her. Her vision faded before gradually coming back into focus, her heartbeat slowing dangerously. Blood still oozed from her shoulder, which now reeked of burnt meat.

Regaining her calm, Salem's laughter ceased as she lowered her wounded hand to her side. One corner of her mouth peaked in a devilish smirk as she first took one step and then another in Ruby's direction.

Helpless, Ruby watched as Salem eventually came to stand over her, only able to stare at the mess of gore on the ground that surrounded Salem's stiletto-clad feet.

"My you had potential," remarked Salem, almost sounding pleased.

"But what good is a power you can't control?" she asked, knowing that no answer would be forthcoming. "Especially," she said, "when there's no one around to save you this time."

A sharp pain entered Ruby's chest, needling through her back and piercing her lungs. Her sight flared red, the world ablaze with fire, gradually fading to nothing.

And with that the fight was over. Ruby Rose was no more.

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Author's note: This story really has gotten away from me, what I had originally planned looked nothing like this. I've never been one to kill off main characters for the sake of it, but I'm really looking forward to writing about the fallout from this chapter. Please, as always, leave me any suggestions/comments!


	3. And Then, Silence: Part Three

And Then, Silence Part Three

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Stepping over the body of Ruby Rose, Salem walked towards the door through which she had come. Her skirts trailed along the gore-spattered floor, sweeping through the rivers of blood.

Her eyes were highly attuned to reds and blacks – all other colors seemed muted, faded – and when she surveyed the room behind her, she saw a veritable sea of color:

Bright sparks – the little tears of blood slipping down the walls; a smoldering fire – the heat leaking from Cinder's splayed ribs; and most brilliant of them all, a light that shone in the darkness, that woke and tickled and toyed with some deep, deep lust within her – the red, red cape draped over the child's crumpled body.

 _We are…_

Her thoughts hissed, a gleeful edge haunting their words.

 _We are…_

Blood, thick and black, still dripped from her ruined hand. She smiled, remembering.

 _The girl who made us feel…_ _who almost made us die…_

Laughter threatened to bubble up her throat again. Her lips twitched into a small smile.

Distantly, she heard the first whine of sirens – miles away, ringing clear through the night.

The sound snapped something inside her, some clarity of thought fighting to be heard –

 _I am… I…_

 _I?_

 _I was…_

Her face was frozen in a puckered frown, eyebrows kneading together over her glowering eyes. The world of reds dimmed around her.

 _I was…_

The simple "I" – that single voice – fought against the whispers, striving to be heard.

 _WEEEEEEE AREEEEEE_

That lone self, with intangible hands, scrabbled for purchase – as if clutching at a round, smooth surface, too large to be held in her tiny hands.

 _No… I am…_

The other voices snarled, raging against her –

 _We are Sssssssalem!_

Quietly, she – for that in that "I" was a woman, faded – broken – half-forgotten by even herself – _she_ whispered.

 _I was… the first of the winter maidens._

The memory of a self – one alive in the biting wind, the chill of frost, the bright white light of fresh snowfall –devoted to life and its pursuits, its triumphs, and its heartbreaks – pushed back against the yowling demons inside the mind of the thing called Salem.

Salem.

It was a name chosen, not one given – it came to be a thing that was the many, the thing that sought to erase the first.

It was a name that replaced the one that was, the one that had long since been forgotten – the one with no one left to remember it.

The one who had been a girl – the last of her sisters to walk the wide world, alone and not alone, powerful and yet powerless to push back the tide of time and resurrect the lights that had been extinguished, one by one, in the three women whom she had love to the exclusion of all else.

Pieces of broken memories swirled inside the minds of Salem, bits of the life of the "I" who fought to know and be known:

 _Young, powerful – alive with the energies and magics of a world once closed to her, its many doors no longer locked and barred. Her sisters were lights in this world plagued by so many shadows and dusts and darkness_

 _But one by one those lights faded. They died and did not die. They lived and yet they did not live. They reappeared in others and elsewhere – they were not them, but she was still she. She was still winter_

 _And she was alone_

 _For years and years more – so many that she persisted in living, she walked and wandered and ghosted through lands she could not see for the shadows in her eyes_

 _Bit by bit, piece by piece – she emptied, forgetting self, forgetting sisters, forgetting all_

 _And as time lived longer, stronger, more fully in her – her body grew weaker, weaker, always weaker…_

 _And one night, that first breath of the final darkness brushed against her cheek, shuddering in her chest and nearly stopping her heart_

 _The pulse, pulse, pulse, and the thrum, thrum, thrum stuttered, stopped, and halted_

 _And started again_

 _Death had visited winter, but had chosen not to stay_

 _But in those fleeting moments, the powers deep inside_

 _Trembled, feared, and fled the thing called darkness, the closing of their eyes_

 _And winter she was no more, the elements did not command –_

 _The magics had gone and left her – alive but somehow dead. Prematurely they had left her – and settled in the next, a vibrantly living host_

 _Without light, without power, without anything at all – her heart it kept on beating, kept on beating in this world_

 _She howled and screamed and cried and jeered and roared, till these the things of anger, the things of sorrow, and of pain – they too left her alive, dead and yet alive – emptied of all her person, nameless and afraid_

 _The magics left a hole inside her, craving to be filled. The hunger was all that remained, and she stalked the land, searching for the lights that would sate it, fill it, quiet its shrieking, squawking, terrifying cries_

' _Take,' the darkness told her. 'Steal,' said its whispers, echoing like prayers_

 _And then one day she found her – the light that was not she, the winter maiden who followed next, the girl where the powers thrived_

 _And down on her like nightmares, the nameless creature fell –_

 _Led by hunger she consumed her, breaking apart the body in which the powers dwelled_

 _The death she brought was swift, the girl could barely feel – and winter she was again, whole but not complete. The magics thrummed inside her, returned to the first true maiden, but darkly they glimmered, glowering in their cell_

 _The power became corrupted, dirtied and befouled – the voices deep inside her, hungrier for more. Louder they grew and louder, beating back her voice – louder they grew and louder, and still the hunger loomed_

 _In those days a dark maiden – a magic born in blackest thoughts – formed of many shadows_

 _And lost was winter to her demons, a whisper among the crowd_

 _And since that time she sought them – the other beating hearts, the living lights that were they but not them, her sisters and sisters and sisters – fodder for the hungering hole inside_

 _Stronger she grew and stronger, until the time was right – the time to be all, and one, and four, and none_

The memories consumed that lone and little "I," the voices they came rushing – battering from every side

 _We are Salem! We will rise! The lights will all be ours!_

 _In shadows we will find the two sisters who remain…_

Salem bared her teeth in an openmouthed grin. The police sirens were wailing closer, drawn to the flash of light from the silver eyed child who lay spilled all over the floor.

Raising the hand that was still intact, she summoned the shadows from whence she'd come, inky blacks and angry reds blooming into existence.

Into the void she stepped, casting a last look over her shoulder.

 _We are Salem…_

And the creature knew, knew with all its heart – that she would eat this world until there was nothing left. Nothing left – but her, and the darkness.

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Author's note: Soooooooo that happened. Got a little weird there - mostly I had a great time experimenting with syntax and seeing how far I could push the envelope on this bit. I wanted to get inside Salem's head and provide some backstory on her before moving forward with the plot. Hopefully the confusion going on inside her isn't too too hard to follow.

Feel free to let me know what you think with any comments/suggestions!

I'll be back with more of this story eventually, but right now my main focus is one of my fics called Behind Bars - if you ever wanted to know what it'd be like if Yang was arrested for assaulting Mercury during the Vytal Festival, please check it out!


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